Contents

Symbols
Bibliography
Preface by Sverre
Preface by Leif

4
5
6
8

Part 1: Introduction

23

A Quality Opening
A Great Learning Tool
Learning the Closed Ruy Lopez
Closed Ruy Lopez Strategy
Some Closed Ruy Lopez Concepts
Ruy Lopez Overview

23
29
30
31
32
33

Part 2: The Main Battleground

48

1
2
3
4
5

The Zaitsev Main Line

The 17...c4 Zaitsev
Other Zaitsev Lines
Imperfection
Regrouping System

51
82
91
107
117

Part 3: White Ducks the Challenge

132

6
7

133
156

Rare 8th and 9th Moves

5th and 6th Move Alternatives

Part 4: Exchange Variations

175

8
9

178
194

The Exchange Variation

Delayed Exchange Variations

Index of Variations

205

THE ZAITSEV MAIN LINE

1 The Zaitsev Main Line

A statistician is a person who stands with his

feet in a bucket of ice water, sticks his head in
an oven and says: on average I feel fine!.
K. DUNNIGAN
The Zaitsev Variation is among Blacks most
respected Ruy Lopez lines at GM-level. Unlike
some of the competing main lines it generally
leads to sharp positions where Black generates
counter-chances rather than seeking slow equality through simplification. With some justification it can be described as a Smyslov Variation
on steroids. Black saves the move ...h6 in order
to apply pressure on Whites centre as quickly
as possible.
Most texts on the variation will point out that
the Zaitsev has one major drawback which contrasts sharply with its general fighting qualities:
it allows White to force an immediate draw (unless Black is willing to transpose to another
variation). At this point we just want to state
that we feel this problem has been exaggerated.
A draw by repetition is after all not such a grim
fate for Black, and if he really wants to, Black is
certainly able to play on. We shall explore this
subject in Chapters 3 and 4.
Theory books date quickly in the modern
chess environment. The professional player
must use an up-to-date database and put in some
serious work comparing the books content with
recent grandmaster practice. We therefore expect many of our readers to do likewise and use
an analysis engine and a game database when
working their way through this book. Examining
recent grandmaster praxis is certainly indispensable for the serious student, and we definitely
encourage this. However, the statistical functions of the database must be used with caution.
Trying to base a repertoire on the statistics of a
chess database is a dubious undertaking no matter how huge, recent and well-organized it is.
Even if you succeed in eliminating the games of
the weakest players, there still are massive problems. The main two are these:

The correlation between the outcome of the

opening struggle and the final result of the
game is rather weak in particular in rapid
and amateur games.
The refutation of a line may be represented
by one single game, heavily outnumbered by
older games where it succeeded due to incorrect handling by the opponents.
Only when you know the specifics of a line
fairly well, can you make sensible use of the database statistics. The Zaitsev drawing line has
two really significant effects on the statistics.
Firstly, there is the fact that Black will usually
avoid the line if he is clearly the stronger player,
and needs to win. Secondly, a huge number of
games where Black is slightly the stronger
player end with a draw around move 12 (see
Chapter 4 for more on this). That means that in
the games that go on, the results might be distorted as there will be a relatively higher number of games where White is the stronger player.
The net effect of these two factors is that in
most full Zaitsev games, the players will either
be of similar strength, or White will be clearly
the stronger player. This will of course influence the statistics.

Zaitsev Overview
(1 e4 e5 2 f3 c6 3 b5 a6 4 a4 f6 5 0-0
e7 6 e1 b5 7 b3 d6 8 c3 0-0 9 h3)
For the moves up to here, see the Ruy Lopez
Overview in Part 1. For the next few moves, until we reach our standard position, we shall only
give very brief comments, justifying the moves
somewhat without going into any details. Analytical support will follow as we first explore
and then backtrack from the principal position
in the following sub-chapters.
9...b7!
According to Mednis this is the move a man
from Mars, reasonably schooled in basic opening principles and generally a good chessplayer, would suggest. We may never find out if

52

THE RUY LOPEZ: A GUIDE FOR BLACK

Mednis was right, but certainly a lot of very

strong earthlings have played the move. 9...e8
is normally an alternative route to the Zaitsev.
It does, however, have some independent significance and the differences are discussed in
Line 4D.
10 d4 (D)
10 d3 leads to a position which can arise
from various move-orders (among others an
Anti-Marshall line) but which we examine under 9 d3 b7 in Line 6E, the Pilnik Variation.
Rarer options are discussed in Line 3D.

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10...e8!
Actually this move was Igor Zaitsevs real
discovery. The reason it was never played until
1975 is probably mostly psychological: allowing White a repetition certainly feels like a
slight concession. However, from a theoretical
perspective a quick draw with Black is quite a
success.
11 bd2
11 g5 forces 11...f8. It may be a draw offer or a psychological feint and is discussed in
Chapter 4. 11 a4 and some minor alternatives
are discussed in Line 3D.
11...f8 (D)
When at move 9 Fritz slightly prefers 9...a5
over 9...b7, it seems due to its inability to appreciate this move. However, it is really the
only consistent follow-up to ...e8. Now there
is some real pressure against Whites e-pawn,
and the bishop can be activated with ...g6 and
...g7.
12 a4
This is the cutting edge of the Zaitsev Variation, and the subject of our first chapter. White

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logically activates his queens rook while attacking the weakness at b5, but the move also
visibly weakens b4, which Black exploits in the
main line. 12 d5 (Line 3A), 12 a3 (Line 3B)
and 12 c2 (Line 3C) are also very respected
moves. It seems that 12 g5 e7 (also 3C) is
considered completely innocuous, but our analysis hints that it deserves some attention.
12...h6
Superficially the position is now reminiscent of the Smyslov Variation (9...h6) but there
is a major difference. By delaying ...h6, Black
has generated quicker counterplay against e4,
thereby making it harder for White to complete
the standard knight manoeuvre to f1.
There has been some controversy whether
this move really is necessary. Some very strong
players have tried 12...d7 with reasonable results. This is a very convenient extra line to add
to your repertoire as it can also occur from the
line 9...d7. See the move-order 9...d7!? 10
d4 e8 11 bd2 f8 12 a4 b7 in Line 5C for
analysis. However, there can hardly be any real
threats to e4 as long as White has the move g5.
13 c2
Protecting e4 with the bishop is logical now
that Black has spent a move protecting f7.
13...exd4
This central exchange is the main line and
very likely best. You should, however, realize
that it contains a considerable strategic risk:
White is left with a perfect pawn duo in the centre. It is therefore a move Black should only
play when he is absolutely certain that he will
have real pressure on Whites centre. That is indeed the case here. In addition his problem
knight gains a nice square.

THE ZAITSEV MAIN LINE

14 cxd4 b4 (D)

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The knight can hardly be driven away from

b4 and is certainly quite annoying for White on
this square. Compared to the Chigorin redeployment to a5 or the Breyer undevelopment to
b8, it seems a considerable improvement.
15 b1
The light-squared bishop usually is worth
preserving, even if the centre pawns have been
blocked on light squares. Here, where the pawns
are mobile, it would be a crime to give it up for
a knight even a well-placed one. In some lines
White will have to work quite hard to reactivate
this bishop but usually it will eventually emerge
as a powerful piece.
15...c5
Black mobilizes his queenside majority and
attacks Whites centre before White has fully
coordinated his pieces. The backward d-pawn
may cause some difficulties in the long term,
but for the moment isnt easy to attack. 15...d7
is a safe alternative which again underlines the
connection to the 9...d7 variation. See Line
1F for details on the transposition to Line 5B.
16 d5
It is possible to delay or avoid this advance,
but usually that will allow Black to solve all his
structural problems by playing ...d5 (after a
preliminary exchange on d4). See Line 1F for
details.
16...d7!
This multi-purpose move has both defensive and offensive missions: in combination
with ...g6 and ...g7, it exerts maximum influence on the e5-square, making a white pawnbreak there extremely hard to achieve. In the

53

offensive department it firstly frees the f-pawn,

allowing Black to undermine the spearhead of
the white pawn-centre, namely the d5-pawn,
with ...f5. Secondly it opens the way for the
plan of ...c4 followed by ...c5 and occupation
of the weakened d3-square, deep behind enemy
lines.
17 a3 (D)

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This may look a little peculiar at first, but

opening the a-file is quite likely to help Blacks
play on the queenside and obviously there is little hope of activity for the rook along the first
rank. In contrast, the third rank presents the
rook with a fairly open view to the kingside in
particular after Whites planned h2.
Just before the Turin Olympiad 2006, the
Norwegian national team had a training session
with Mark Dvoretsky. One of his lessons was
on the subject of open files. Everyone knows
that rooks belong on open files, but as Dvoretsky pointed out its easy to forget that this rule
is also valid for open ranks!
17...f5!?
The text-move will most likely lead to an exchange of Blacks f-pawn for Whites d-pawn.
This at least in an abstract sense should benefit Black as he will strengthen his central influence. As compensation White will get certain
attacking possibilities against the weakened
black kingside. This sets the pace for the struggle ahead. Generally the play will now become
very sharp. If Black prefers a different type of
game, he can try 17...c4, which is considered in
Lines 2A and 2B. Even though it has been
played by strong players and looks reasonable
enough, we shall not examine 17...g6, as after

54

THE RUY LOPEZ: A GUIDE FOR BLACK

18 h2 g7 19 df3 it seems that Whites

kingside attack comes just a bit too quickly.
18 h2
This is Khalifmans move, which he introduced against Karpov in Reggio Emilia in 1992.
It is still considered Whites most dangerous
option here, the obvious point being the lateral
transfer of the a3-rook to the kingside. Furthermore it seems almost inevitable that Blacks fpawn will be exchanged, after which g4 will be
a very active square for the knight.
18...f6 (D)
Whites last move released his control over
e5, so Black decides that his knight can again
be put to better use here, increasing the pressure on e4 and d5 and to some extent neutralizing Whites g4 plan. It is not at all unlikely
that the moves up to here represent best play
for both sides after 1 e4 e5 the Open Games
main line if you like. It also happens to be our
tabiya.
Black has also tried 18...h8?!, which has
scored poorly and probably is too slow, 18...c4
and 18...e7 (see Leifs Preface).

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Chapter Guide
1 e4 e5 2 f3 c6 3 b5 a6 4 a4 f6 5 0-0
e7 6 e1 b5 7 b3 d6 8 c3 0-0 9 h3 b7 10
d4 e8 11 bd2 f8 12 a4 (12...h6 13 c2
exd4 14 cxd4 b4 15 b1 c5 16 d5 d7 17
a3 f5 18 h2 f6)
Line 1A: 19 f3
54
Line 1B: 19 g3
60
Line 1C: (19 g4?!)
62
Line 1D: 18 ae3
64
Line 1E: (18 exf5)
68

Line 1F: 13 c2 (13...exd4 14 cxd4 b4 15

b1 c5 16 d5 d7 17 f1?!)
73
Line 1G: (12...h6 13 d5)
77
(For 17 a3 c4, see Chapter 2.)
1A: Cutting Edge, 19 f3
(1 e4 e5 2 f3 c6 3 b5 a6 4 a4 f6 5 0-0
e7 6 e1 b5 7 b3 d6 8 c3 0-0 9 h3 b7 10
d4 e8 11 bd2 f8 12 a4 h6 13 c2 exd4 14
cxd4 b4 15 b1 c5 16 d5 d7 17 a3 f5 18
h2 f6)
19 f3 (D)

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It is hard to say whether this is Whites best,

but it has clearly attracted the most attention
from the top guns lately. Part of Whites idea is
that he would prefer the exchange of pawns to
happen on e4, so that he can quickly bring his
knight to e4 while opening the b1-h7 diagonal
for his bishop, rather than wondering how to
get rid of a white pawn on f5.
19...e5!
Despite its peculiar appearance, this move
makes a lot of sense and can be seen as a very
concrete counter-measure to Whites last move.
Black would like to pick up the d5-pawn without
opening the b1-h7 diagonal. This is well illustrated by the recent heavyweight battle Kariakin-Bacrot, Wijk aan Zee 2006 which instead
saw 19...fxe4?! 20 xe4 bxd5 21 g4!, when
Black already had problems:
a) 21...xe4 22 xe4 xe4 (22...c3 23
xf8+ ) 23 xe4 c7 24 xh6+ gxh6 25
g4+ +.
b) 21...xg4 22 hxg4 e5 23 g5 hxg5 24
xc5 xe1+ 25 xe1 e8 26 xe8 xe8 27
xb7 e1+ 28 h2 xc1 29 a2 +.